Right up front, please let me give anyone who is overly strict and austere the opportunity to walk away from this column. 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...

For those of you still with us, I love The Avengers. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye, that movie was amazing and I cannot wait for the second one to come out!

Some time back while discussing the physical, metaphysical, astrophysical, and theological ramifications of The Avengers with my best friend to whom I am married, it occurred to me that there is much of The Avengers to be found in pastoring, especially if one is not careful. Here are the conclusions Dana and I came to during our discussion.

A pastor is very likely to be in a Captain America mind set for his first few years of pastoring. Everything is idealistic, it is all “truth, justice, and the heavenly way.” If he is wise, he will always stay that very same way, till the day he breathes his last breath and goes to heaven. If that pastor is not careful, though, he will could end up in a Thor mind set. With the heady position of being the one behind the pulpit each week, a man can quickly come to view himself almost as a god, when the truth is that he is just as flawed as any mere mortal, he just wears fancier clothes.

A pastor can also take on an Iron Man mind set if he does not guard against it. He can view himself as unbreakable, and can become arrogant, narcissistic, self-absorbed, and egotistical. If he does, he will become reckless, and do much needless damage while showing off. It is also possible for a pastor to become an assassin like the Black Widow and Hawkeye. He may not be as flashy and over the top as the others, but many a pastor has killed tender hearts with well placed arrows of opinion and epithet. Perhaps the worst possibility of all is that a pastor make take on a David Banner/Incredible Hulk mind set. I remember toward the end of the first movie when the aliens were devastating New York. Captain America told David Banner “Now might be a good time to get angry.” I will never forget Banner’s answer: “Well now, that’s my secret, Captain, I’m always angry...” He then turned green and smashed everything in sight!

When I saw that part of the movie for the first time, I teasingly said to Dana “he must have been in the ministry for a while!” Pastors, I feel for you. It is very easy to get perpetually angry. The devil is “walking about, seeking whom he may devour,” (I Peter 5:8) “the love of many has waxed cold,” (Matthew 24:12) you have the care of the church on you daily, (II Corinthians 11:28) you deal with murmuring, (Acts 6:1) ands many of the people you try to help are not at all helping themselves! (II Timothy 2:25). But may I tell you something? As a pastor, I feel like the happiest “Avenger” in the universe!

Page 2 of 2 - That is not because I am better or wiser than anyone else. I guess I have just been doing it long enough that I am starting to see the fruits of the years of labor. Sunday night a mother and her little girl got up and sang a special in our church. I had flashbacks. You see, her mother was a little girl in our church many years ago, we brought her to church on our bus! Now, years later, she is bringing her own daughter.

Men of God, never give in to the urge to turn green and smash things. God is too good, and the fruits of our labor too sweet! So no matter how your week has gone, take a deep breath and repeat after me: “truth, justice, and the heavenly way, truth, justice, and the heavenly way.”

Dr. Bo Wagner is pastor of the Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, a widely traveled evangelist, and the author of several books. His books are available at www.wordofhismouth.com.